Importance of Ethical Leadership in Public and Private Enterprises of Sri Lanka in Developing and Global Contexts

Abstract

This conference paper will attempt to address key aspects of a resurgent and a contemporary business issue - importance of ethical leadership in private and public enterprises of Sri Lanka in developing and global contexts. It drew primary survey data as empirical evidence from a developing economy (Sri Lanka), where 17 leaders and managers of Sri Lankan organisations consisting of private and public enterprises were interviewed face-to-face and researched recently, as well as survey data drawn from secondary research contrasted to compare with those of a developed economy (Australia) carried out in a recent identical doctoral research (2011/12) in order to compound the importance when compared with a developed economy and to establish the difference if at all. Organisations and their leaders often underestimate how closely they are being watched by not only by their employees, but by the general public at large - both within the country and globally. The leaders actually do versus what they ought to do (Brown, 2007) should not be two things. The importance of this research is the impact of ethical leadership on organisations and their outcomes both in development and global contexts. It affects on management in economic development from a micro (organizational) perspective to a more macro economical perspective posing the central question how important leading ethically is. Leading can be defined as inspiring, motivating and directing. The paper argues, significantly how both economies (Sri Lanka and Australia) behave similarly in leading ethically, but mechanisms that are in place to make organizations accountable for ethical violations which result in acts of misconduct and mismanagement in Sri Lanka are either absent, lacking or ineffective or all of the three; providing motivation and scope for greater mobilization of ethics in Sri Lanka. Ethical leadership is bound to escalate stakeholders and the public to place the country's image with an improved and positive perception globally and reap benefits of development, according to a conceptual model developed by the author.